A parking brake via which a vehicle is held at a standstill is described in German Patent Application No. DE 103 61 042 B3. The clamping force for holding the vehicle is generated electromechanically, in that an electric brake motor of the parking brake acts upon a brake piston, which is the carrier of a brake lining, axially in the direction of a brake disk. When the locking operation is completed, the position of the rotor of the brake motor is held and the clamping force is preserved. In order to be able to move the vehicle again, the clamping force must be reduced, for which purpose the brake motor is displaced in the opposite direction.